Friday, December 31, 2010

Moonwalk: Capricorn

Until I watched the goofy movie, The Men Who Stare at Goats, I hadn’t realized the vast variety among these practical, climbing creatures—often depicted as four-legged trash mashers who will eat anything and everything, especially tin cans. (This is a myth. Apparently, goats eat almost anything but tin cans and cardboard. I’m disappointed to learn I can’t acquire one to do most of my recycling.)

There’s a scene in the movie where a bunch of goats, being used for some mighty strange military experiments into the paranormal, are “sprung” from their coop and confinement. The mass exodus of goats was a fashion show of coats, colors, and personalities. Further research verified; there are over three hundred distinct breeds of goat.

Is This Moon Made of Goat Cheese or Blue Cheese?

The proud owner of a Capricorn Moon myself, I thought a stroll down my own lunar lane would make this the easiest of all my Moonwalks. Not really! I’m one kind of Goat Moon. There are many others. I decided this was my chance to explore my herd and hope you’ll be as fascinated as I am by these often-comical looking creatures. Some other goat characteristics to contemplate for their application to Capricorn Sun and Moon: Both male and female goats have beards and horns. They are visually androgynous.[1] All breeds have a woolly undercoat in winter for which Angoras are bred. (If you think Cap Moons aren’t warm, you just haven’t gotten to know them well enough for a hug while they’re wearing their undercoat!) Goats are one of the oldest domesticated species. (Think of the application to long-term relationship potential.)They’re used for milk, meat, hair, and skins over much of the world. In the 20th century, they even gained popularity as pets. Goat milk products, especially cheese, are very “in” where I live, especially among people who have cow milk allergies. However, most people simply prefer the unique taste and texture of goat cheese, often packaged under the French word for goat, chevre. [2]

With apologies to the traditionalists among you, I have never found it helpful to know my Capricorn Moon is in detriment. I don’t want my planets to sound detrimental, to fall down (be “in fall”) and possibly bruise themselves, or to afflict or besiege me. The Moon is our emotional life, mother, our habits and how we nurture. Those kinds of labels depress me, especially applied to such important areas of life. Alas, being Saturn-ruled, a tendency toward depression can sometimes go with the territory of a Cap Moon. However, this must be taken in context with no presumptions made that anyone with this Moon sign needs to run to the nearest shrink for a prescription of Zoloft, Lexapro or the latest Serotonin uplift du jour.

Don’t rule it out, if it’s truly needed, but rely on Saturn to help you make a good executive decision about what feeds and heals your emotional life. Since Capricorn is an Earth sign, explore all the alternatives offered by your own element—herbs, homeopathy, and flower essences, too. Donna Cunningham has some excellent material on this issue and specific flower essence suggestions in her classic book, The Moon in Your Life: Being a Lunar Type in a Solar World. According to Donna, Cap Moons can become depressed as a habit to avoid anger. Another Cap habit worth turning around is working even harder when feelings surface in order to avoid them. [3]

Cap Moon: Chief Executive Officer of Feelings

As I’m sure I’ve shared more than once, my own Moon squares Neptune, Venus, and Sun. Imagine what that does to stir up my lunar life. My Saturn-ruled Moon saves the day by putting some brakes on raw-nerve feelings evoked by Neptune. My Cap Moon helps me put free-floating, constant sensations into some order and context. Without the grounding my Goat Moon brings, I’d definitely need some of those drugs. Even if you need them, long- or short-term or wonder if you do, never fear. Ultimately, Capricorn Moon will teach you how to run your emotional corporation and to sort and stack up your feelings in a way you can bank on. You can become a powerful executive when it comes to managing emotions. Achievements in emotional growth might actually become your forte.

What, you don’t think emotions shouldn’t be “managed?” Think of the trouble they get you into when you blurt things out in the wrong context or blow your top in a way that’s permanently alienating. Or “declare yourself” in a relationship way too soon and scare off the one you want to woo. One of the biggest things my Cap Moon has taught me is to be more cautious about what I share since my Moon square Neptune is likely to blab everything and be more transparent than tule fog is translucent. Tule (too’-lee) is the dense layer of ground fog we experience in and around Sacramento in winter. Hmm, no wonder the opening photo of the Goat more prominent than the fog around him appealed to me!

Baby Goats Are Called Kids

You’ve probably heard that Capricorn tends to be old when young and young when old. When I think of how that applies to the realm of feelings, this Moon sign tends to be wise before his or her time—and a kid at heart the closer s/he gets to the finish line of life. (Isn’t it odd that our pet name for children, kids, was borrowed from the name for baby goats?) A childlike nature is not a bad benefit to look forward to, since none of us is getting any younger except at heart.

"Only the fool hopes to repeat an experience; the wise man knows that every experience is to be viewed as a blessing." ~ Henry Miller (Sun, Mercury, and Venus in Capricorn)

What Cap Moon Knows Is for You to Find Out—and Appreciate

What the Capricorn Moon wants most of all is to be respected for either wisdom or authority. That doesn’t necessarily mean s/he’s either a wise guy (gal) or authoritarian. S/he simply wants you to appreciate his or her hard-earned knowledge and how you can both benefit from it. The workaholic tendencies of Cap Moon come from that need to “prove himself” or have others recognize what she has achieved. Capricorn is one of the signs where the native begins to focus on his or her role in the community. The Cap Moon wants to create an orderly, beneficial existence for everyone that relies on one another. We often connect this Saturn-ruled sign with father or paternal energy, just as its opposite sign, Cancer, is considered the maternal archetype. Naturally, variations occur across genders. There are wonderful, nurturing male Cancers and terrific businesswomen Capricorns—by Sun, Moon or other planets. (Cap Sun Dolly Parton comes to mind.) Keeping this to its archetypal “ideal male” energy only, the evolved Cap Moon will fulfill the role of loving father—a provider, a fair disciplinarian, someone to look up to (there’s that acknowledgment), and someone whose wise counsel is sought when a kid is in trouble. Yes, the still-struggling Cap Moon can be a control freak, stingy with emotional expression, and a father who grounds you for months at a time. The coolest thing about being a grown-up is that we can decide how to “run” this energy! The habits for which Capricorn is famous, if not infamous, can be nudged to the side of positive. Habits are habits, and if you have a Cap Moon and knee-jerk routines or compulsions that you don’t like, you can replace the content of your habits or corral them in a different direction. (Capricorn also rules the knees, ergo knee-jerk reactions. You have dominion!)

What to Do Under Cap Moon

Saturn and Capricorn often get bad press, but they are as necessary to wholeness as every other piece of the zodiacal pie. Once you make peace with Saturn, you’ll see how he can be your greatest ally. Foundations, discipline, good habits and order will be imposed upon us (usually at a Saturn transit) when we won’t develop our inner Saturn. Saturn dumps from our lives forms that no longer fit and helps us build on new ground. Even if it doesn’t feel good in the process, these changes are ultimately a boon that keep us going in the right direction on our journey to fulfillment. Here are some ideas to begin to develop that better relationship with Saturn and the planet it’s associated with, Capricorn.

Begin under this New Moon in Capricorn to see the complementary pair of Moon-ruled Cancer and its opposite, Saturn-ruled Capricorn. Just as the Lights can be seen as a male/female pair in Sun and Moon, Cancer and Capricorn also have a male/female and mother/father polarity—better said a complementary nature. If you have planets in either of these signs, begin to notice how they balance each other. Find the “good” that both planets do for you and how each helps the other not to overdo some of the tendencies that can go out of control for either Cancer or Capricorn such as smothering (nurturing to a fault) or overeating for Cancer or becoming a work machine or too rigid for Cap. Capricorn is depicted alternatively as a sea goat and a terrestrial goat—one reflecting its water complement the other honoring its earthy, hooves-on-the-ground nature.

Where does this New Moon at 14 Capricorn fall in your chart? What house/area of life is it lighting up? How do you need to, first, acknowledge yourself in that area of life? How can you bring the positive characteristics of gentle but firm discipline, order, good habits, and new foundations to this area of life? Can you let the business of others appreciating you come to you naturally instead of craving it so much that you are dancing as fast as you can all the time?

On this New Moon Solar Eclipse, the Sun/Moon and Mars square Saturn in Libra. The pressure’s on to come to terms with the ruler of Capricorn. That way, we won’t feel like Saturn is Sr. Mary Meanie whacking us with another kind of ruler. (My childhood parochial education was so Saturnian!) The tension of this square begs resolution, especially with a whole tribe of planets in Goat facing their archetypal “father.” If you’ve got issues with parenting, authority, or the powers-that-be, watch yourself face them on the climb to the top of Capricorn’s proverbial mountain for a higher view. Mercury in Sag helps you rev up for the trip and think like an adventurer. Use the strength you acquired in 2010, grappling with the Cardinal T-Square of Saturn, Uranus, and Pluto, to help you deal with any tensions with authority figures and conservative viewpoints.

Back to where the New Moon falls in your chart: New Moons already mark new beginnings. Eclipses add yellow highlighter to the concept of new starts. Coinciding so close to the calendar New Year, a time when many people set new goals, can make this a red-letter month and year for achievement. (Cardinal birds are red; the color often associated with the Cardinal signs, including Capricorn. Seeds planted in the week of the New Moon/Solar Eclipse take on added meaning by mid-year. Sow well.

You’re probably relieved to done with Mercury Retrograde during the holiday season. Mercury will still be in its shadow phase until mid-January, going forward in the sector of the zodiac it visited recently while traveling in reverse. With Mercury square Jupiter and Uranus in the New Moon chart, Mercurial pursuits are likely to be largely unpredictable. You might want to postpone short trips, public presentations, buying a new cell phone or computer until the third week of January, all the better for electronic devices with Sun in Aquarius.

Venus in Scorpio is “channeling the outer planets” this lunar month, [4] all of them except its own ruler, Pluto. Relationships have prominence for now, and they are not lightweight. In square to Neptune and Chiron, deception, escapism, and pain from old relationships are likely themes. We don’t just have a relationship with our present partners. We have relationships with them and all their past partners—and vice versa! While one part of Venus in Scorpio might enjoy that somewhat kinky ménage with its high drama, another part of that planetary combo, the one with the proverbial Plutonian jealousy, would like these other people out of his face or to have her lover all to herself. The trine to Jupiter/Uranus in Pisces pours expansion and excitement into the mix. Relationships can be wildly up-and-down this month with much to learn on the ride. The powers that bring us growth and change are riding with relationship this month, where we can grapple with ourselves most effectively, if sometimes painfully, in the mirror of those we care about most.

The large cluster of Capricorn planets carries a “need to achieve” under this New Moon. If we remember it’s really “seed to achieve” at a time of new beginnings and that the mountain takes time to climb, we’ll have a month in tune with what the sky is hinting.

A Few Closing Notes from My Capricorn Moon

Here’s some “astro-memoir” I hope will help illustrate the positive side of Capricorn Moon and help you put into perspective Saturn’s square to the Cap New Moon this month.

I like rules and am normally not comfortable breaking them, including the speed limit and the law about declaring every ounce of income on my tax returns. When my fiery niece was just a tot—a stellium-in-Aries—she was all over the place and did not listen to her mother or grandmother. Only me. Her mother/my sister-in-law used to ask, “How do you do that?” I was loving but firm and I stated in an authoritative voice what she could and could not do. I did not yell like grandma. I did not repeat the same thing incessantly, as her mom did, in the same tone of voice, that became easy to tune out. Not only would my niece stop short to listen to me; she looked relieved that someone had finally helped her find the off switch. Setting boundaries is a form of caring, especially from Cap Moon.

My niece showed me a part of myself. As a Uranus square Sun, another part of me wants to chuck all the rules, but my Cap Moon is relieved to know my boundaries. Within this lunar-defined space—that usually does not feel confining—anything goes! I feel free to express my feelings and to nurture others inside this circle.

Another lesson: My first career in social work involved advising parents of children with developmental disabilities how to help their kids reach their maximum potential, despite their physical or mental challenges. The issue of discipline was huge. It is so easy to indulge a child who has limitations and to make their “birth package” an excuse for not being firmer and having reasonable standards of behavior. (Do you see a parallel here for your inner parent if you have an “afflicted” chart?) Of course, lack of behavioral rules only leads to bratty children no one can stand. That compounds an already challenging role as a parent to a child with special needs. (Who would want to provide the respite care these parents often so desperately need?)

We say the greatest things we can give our children are roots and wings. That’s Saturn and Uranus. The analogy I still love from my child development days: How would it feel to enter to an intersection with no traffic signals?

Enjoy all the signals this month: stop, go, caution. Remember that the yellow or caution light always precedes a change in movement, whether stop or start. Are you as amazed as I am that these rules for safe travel are universal? To disobey them isn’t just to risk a big, fat, expensive ticket and a possibly increased insurance rate; the results could be devastating.

Let this Cap Moon introduce you to your inner yellow light and how it can save the day—or at least get you to where you’re going in one piece. If you have a Cap Moon, know your intuition is especially strong when sensing the need for caution. This is a gift and a godsend, especially in today’s world of chronic change and uncertainties. It's a lot like having a good dad who always has love and protection at the ready.

[3] Donna Cunningham, Being a Lunar Type in a Solar World (Weiser: 1982), p. 98. If you’re not already a regular visitor to Donna’s blog, I highly recommend Sky Writer. For environmental considerations, all Donna’s newer books are e-books and can be purchased from Moon Maven Publications.

Are you a New Moongram reader? This month’s special, available to people on the New Moongram mailing list only, is $50 off a New Year’s Reading with Joyce. Her normal $150 fee is $100 through February 1. To join the mailing list, click on the icon in the upper right of the sidebar.

5 comments:

Thanks for the great post Joyce. As the proud owner of a Capricorn Sun and also the proud owner of a Moon in Cap and Sun sq. Saturn hubby, it's nice to hear some good things about the sign of the goat.

BTW, a friend of mine has twins who are triple Capricorns (Sun, Moon and ASC). When they were babies they couldn't tolerate regular formula so she put them on goat's milk formula, not realising the correlations with their charts, and they thrived!

What a wonderful exploration of Capricorn Moon Joyce. When I was a teenager, I went to a school where we kept a great deal of animals, including goats. I spend most of my 5 years there looking after them. Goats are wonderful creatures and yes they will eat just about anything haha.

Hi, Lua! So glad you enjoyed this Moonwalk through the goat fields, and I'm glad to know you can vouch for both their good and bad habits, LOL!(I think it explains something about my ongoing struggle with my weight, except if there's such a thing as a gourmet goat, that would be my Goat Moon. Wants to eat all the time but at least has taste and some health considerations in mind with Virgo Sun nudging it.)

I never know where these Moonwalks will take me. I just climb out of my space capsule and let the Moon/ my intuition lead me. When I saw "Men Who State at Goats," I had no idea it would contribute to this post! BTW, I really admire your website, Leah! :)

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